All the news

The Decade of Mesić

04/03/2010 -  Drago Hedl Osijek

With the official swearing-in of new Croatian president Ivo Josipović on 18 February, the 10-year era of Stjepan Mesić came to an end. Our correspondent looked back on the Mesić era, a time that saw the strengthening of democratic institutions

Stop Elektrozink

03/03/2010 -  Tamara Shanaeva Vladikavkaz

The citizens of Vladikavkaz are protesting against Elektrozink, a metallurgical factory known for its toxic emissions. Worries for health and environment, though, clash with the difficulties of closing the main plant in the region that gives work to over 2000 people

From soldiers to caregivers

02/03/2010 -  Stefano Lusa

The Slovenian weekly newspaper Mladina has proposed the following: abolish the army and transform soldiers into either caregivers for the elderly or emergency management staff. More than five thousand people have already signed a petition in support of the proposal and the debate is heating up. Insight from our correspondent

Against the Mafia

26/02/2010 -  Cecilia Ferrara Belgrado

Serbia's law on the confiscation of property deriving from crime, outlined in collaboration with the Italian anti-mafia Department and in force for about a year, has started to produce some results. But what does the term “organized crime” mean in Serbia? Here's what the experts say

Mr. President’s answers

25/02/2010 -  Giorgio Comai Nazran

On 19 February, Ingushetia’s President Yunus-bek Yevkurov held a meeting with local university students. When responding to students’ questions, Yevkurov never tried to deny that this small republic in the Northern Caucasus is stricken with problems

Northern Kosovo, in the hunt for solutions

24/02/2010 -  Tatjana Lazarević Mitrovica

The leak in January of the International Civilian Office (ICO) draft strategy for northern Kosovo stirred intense reactions. The plan, which foresees a complex net of new bodies and the "closure" of the Mitrovica office of UNMIK, has been rejected by Serbs as a new try to implement the 2007 Ahtisaari plan

A bridge apart?

23/02/2010 -  Nikolai Yotov Bucharest

Despite their joint access to the EU in 2007, Bulgarians and Romanians continue to live with outdated stereotypes. Political, economic, social, informational exchange between Bucharest and Sofia remains not simply unsatisfactory, but practically absent

Ethnopolis

19/02/2010 -  Andrea Rossini

The Bosnian political crisis in the election year. The European Court of Human Rights' statement on the Dayton Peace Agreement, the force of the Ethnopolis

Macedonia: frozen conflict on the name front

18/02/2010 -  Risto Karajkov Skopje

After PASOK won the last elections in Greece, Athens and Skopje are seemingly communicating again. Yet, the name dispute does not seem close to an end, and today's hopes rely on a more direct involvement of the EU

De facto cooperation proves to be difficult

15/02/2010 -  Gegam Bagdasaryan Stepanakert

International organisations, both governmental and non-governmental, find it difficult to co-operate with NGOs in Nagorno Karabakh because its de facto independence is not recognised at the international level. These are some of the difficulties facing civil society in a territory not officially recognised

Double standards or fair approach?

10/02/2010 -  Arzu Geybullayeva Baku

Russia and European Union member states have shown different approaches to the South Caucasus. Finding some common ground with Russia might help resolve the conflicts in the region

Commissioners

09/02/2010 -  Alvise Armellini Brussels

Tomorrow, newly-elected European Commissioners begin their terms in office. Who are the new Eastern European Commissioners? What are their stands on the issues? How did they fare in Parliamentary hearings? More details in our correspondent's report

Regards from Mavrovo

09/02/2010 -  Risto Karajkov Mavrovo

Environmental protection, sustainable development, and international cooperation at work in Macedonia's largest national park. Our correspondent visited the area of Mavrovo lake

Sacked

09/02/2010 -  Francesco Martino Sofia

The debacle of Bulgarian European Commissioner Rumyana Zheleva was the first blow to Prime Minister Boyko Borisov's government. Although it is still too early to assess the consequences of Zheleva’s defeat at the national and international levels, the governing party's criteria for choosing its highest-ranking officials should be called into question

Moldova-EU: a chance for a new relationship

03/02/2010 -  Iulian Lungu Chişinău

As the name of the Republic of Moldova's new governing coalition implies, the Alliance for European Integration has as its main goal the improvement of Moldovan-European Union relations

Between real and virtual Kosovo

03/02/2010 -  Francesco Gradari Pristina

Michael L. Giffoni, the Italian ambassador in Pristina, was recently appointed to the post of EU Special Envoy for Northern Kosovo. In this interview, Mr. Giffoni talks to OBC about his new assignment

The train

01/02/2010 -  Azra Nuhefendić

After an 18-year interruption of service, the Belgrade-Sarajevo train line was recently re-opened for the first time since the beginning of the war. The first train to travel on the line was an engine pulling three carriages: one belonging to Republika Srpska Railroads, one from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the third from Serbia. There were 15 passengers on board

The "Serbian Bondsteel"

29/01/2010 -  Danijela Nenadić Belgrade

''Yug'', the biggest military base in Serbia, was officially inaugurated in the Municipality of Bujanovac last November. The huge, well-equipped base was built to facilitate the training of Serbian army units, even though the local Albanian community fiercely criticized its construction

Totem and taboo in Greek documentary cinema

28/01/2010 -  Irene Dioli

Documentary cinema in Greece: the reality of a cinematographic genre limited by the lack of producers and by themes that are still taboo. Interview with Rea Apostolides, producer and researcher

Amos Oz: the art of compromise

26/01/2010 -  Francesco Martino Sofia

Amos Oz is one of the best-known names in world literature. An Israeli novelist, essayist, and political activist, Oz is a fervent supporter of the need to reach compromise in order to overcome conflicts. Our correspondent met him in Sofia